Barston Lakes

Was part of the British Carp Angling Championships 2010 semi finals shown on Sky Sports. I havent fished it since 2007 when i gave up on the place from catching 2 many 2lb pasties and going through way too much bait. Far to expense for me to do it to catch small carp. Nice lake, plenty of fish and a bit wierd because your right underneath a flight path for one of the runways at Birmingham Airport so you get a light show in the night.
Just used to fish 1 rod on the method with vitalin and a few particles and a 14mm boilie on the hair. Then 1 rod in the margins with fake corn or maize over a bed of paericles. Used to haul them out but there was far too many pasties for my liking. First cast on the method on my first visit here produced the biggest fish i had out of there in the shape of a 16lb mirror.
Seeing the size of the carp on the BCAC there seems to be a few more bigger fish unless they just never showed the little one.
Anyone fishing there can fill me in on what its like and what methods bag a few of the bigger residents?

Im going there again in the next few weeks to practice my distance work for a comp in summer. I have fished Barston only once and like you I caught on a method feeder at about 40 yards out. I went for a walk round when I first got there and in the bins I found kilos and kilos of expander pellet and meat cubes and swim stim green groundbait that had been thrown away by the match anglers so I used it on a method feeder and caught. The bigger carp are allegedly out in the middle and if you can cast to them your quids in. I am rubbish at spodding at distance so I need to practice lol.

All i can say is take plenty of spod mix with you. Those little pasties will hoover it up in no time. Could be worth a chuck a few yards behind or to the side of the baited spot to try and snare a few of the bigger fish hanging on the edges as the pasties go mad over the food.

this is the main water i fish and to be honest i wouldn't go near a spod mix the small fish HAMMER YOU! i fish boilie over boilie and u'll find you definatley catch alot less of the pasties.as for distance i dont think that matters atall at barston what does matter is where you fish ignore the swims that have some one fishing in every peg, i very rarely fish the side where you can park as this is where every one goes.my choice of peg is to the right of the club house 4 pegs in always quiet theres a woden platform for the golfers about 40-50 yards out and its not far from the fountain wich the fish love.ive had my pb from there 3 years ago 24lb+ common and hundreds of doubles,i love barston fished it since a kid long before any work was done there.hope this helps you mate let us know how you get on.

This could be where iwent wrong as when fishing the method up there it was with vitalin and crammed with hemp, pellet and corn. May have to try it again on the boilie approach but this could turn out expensive.

dont you have to buy a membership ticket there now to night fish it? and no floating baits because of the ducks and swans

yeah but the price of membership is only £10 which is half of what you would pay for a 24 hr session on most venues, it's also close to the cost of a kilo of boilies and probably one fifth of the total bait cost for a 48 hr session. If you are only going to go once then its not really worth it, but if you live close by or go five or six times a year then it is worth it.

had a wander round there end of last summer. doesnt look very secure on opposite side to where you can park behind your swim. very easy to get into fishery through the footpath gate which i couldnt see any padlock on? are there robberies up there at all?

Stop being a pansy wus lol. Ive been to far worse places and I would go again. I have been to Barston Lakes twice now, yes there were quite a few walkers going along the path but they shouldnt prove to be very problematical. The main entrance is down a single track before you enter via the golf club which has security cameras up the ying yang. Visitors are restricted to walking round and I havent heard of any problems with tackle theft from there. Always go with a mate and have a good talk with the owners, if you still feel a little insecure then get a whistle each and if you feel threatned give a blast on the whistle as two anglers are better than one if you are faced with hostile intruders.

Stop being a pansy wus lol.

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But you cant be too careful can you.